Chanteau Suzanne, Sidikou Fati, Djibo Saacou, Moussa Amadou, Mindadou Habsatou, Boisier Pascal
CERMES, Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur, P.O. Box 10 887, Niamey, Niger.
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2006 Jul;100(7):677-80. doi: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2005.09.006. Epub 2005 Dec 15.
The absence of reliable laboratories for culture of Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae, the three main causes of bacterial meningitis in Africa, hampers microbiological surveillance in these countries. To compensate for this situation in Niger, a multiplex single-tube PCR method has been implemented at a central level to test cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples. The overall confirmation rate for PCR (N=3791) was 40.8% compared with 16.0% for culture (N=945) (P<10(-6)). Among 850 CSF specimens tested by both methods, the overall confirmation rate was 29.4% for PCR and 16.4% for culture (P<10(-8)). PCR was also efficient for the CSF specimens stored in Trans-isolate medium. In conclusion, PCR assay is currently a key tool in Africa to improve microbiological surveillance of bacterial meningitis.
非洲细菌性脑膜炎的三个主要病因是脑膜炎奈瑟菌、流感嗜血杆菌和肺炎链球菌，而缺乏用于培养这些病菌的可靠实验室，这阻碍了这些国家的微生物学监测。为弥补尼日尔的这种情况，已在中心层面采用多重单管聚合酶链反应（PCR）方法来检测脑脊液（CSF）样本。PCR检测（N = 3791）的总体确诊率为40.8%，而培养检测（N = 945）的确诊率为16.0%（P < 10(-6)）。在两种方法都检测的850份脑脊液标本中，PCR的总体确诊率为29.4%，培养的确诊率为16.4%（P < 10(-8)）。PCR对保存在转运分离培养基中的脑脊液标本也有效。总之，目前PCR检测是非洲改善细菌性脑膜炎微生物学监测的关键工具。
